SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICAL THINKING
By Seth Owen
The Beltway sniper attacks were a string of killings that occurred between October 2, 2002 and October 22, 2002 in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The perpetrators, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, claimed ten victims and wounded seven others during the attacks. Their criminal activity began in February, 2002 with a series of murders and robberies in eight different states which left seven dead and seven wounded. The shootings were carried out with a Bushmaster XM-15 rifle fired through a hole in the rear of a blue Chevrolet Caprice. In each attack, the perpetrators killed their victims with a single round fired at considerable range and then drove away. The offenders were eventually …show more content…
Differential association theory points to the idea that the people one surrounds themselves with has an effect on their likelihood of becoming a criminal. This theory states that individuals learn criminal behaviors from others, including attitudes, motives, and rationalizations for criminal behavior. The essential learning of criminal behavior occurs within the personal groups one is intimate with. …show more content…
The theory revolves around the idea that people feel strain due to not meeting cultural goals. Society tends to dictate certain cultural goals for people, such as success or wealth, while circumstance can hinder the culturally accepted means of achieving those goals. (5) This can cause some people to strive for the same cultural goals without using culturally accepted means to achieve them. In cases where people don’t accept the cultural goals or the institutionalized means of achieving them, and choose instead to replace them, this is called rebellion. Rebels choose to attempt to give society new goals and methods to achieve them, which is a driving force behind revolutionaries.
By Seth Owen
The Beltway sniper attacks were a string of killings that occurred between October 2, 2002 and October 22, 2002 in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The perpetrators, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, claimed ten victims and wounded seven others during the attacks. Their criminal activity began in February, 2002 with a series of murders and robberies in eight different states which left seven dead and seven wounded. The shootings were carried out with a Bushmaster XM-15 rifle fired through a hole in the rear of a blue Chevrolet Caprice. In each attack, the perpetrators killed their victims with a single round fired at considerable range and then drove away. The offenders were eventually …show more content…
Differential association theory points to the idea that the people one surrounds themselves with has an effect on their likelihood of becoming a criminal. This theory states that individuals learn criminal behaviors from others, including attitudes, motives, and rationalizations for criminal behavior. The essential learning of criminal behavior occurs within the personal groups one is intimate with. …show more content…
The theory revolves around the idea that people feel strain due to not meeting cultural goals. Society tends to dictate certain cultural goals for people, such as success or wealth, while circumstance can hinder the culturally accepted means of achieving those goals. (5) This can cause some people to strive for the same cultural goals without using culturally accepted means to achieve them. In cases where people don’t accept the cultural goals or the institutionalized means of achieving them, and choose instead to replace them, this is called rebellion. Rebels choose to attempt to give society new goals and methods to achieve them, which is a driving force behind revolutionaries.